We spend a lot of time with business owners on square one on their marketing efforts. With the advent of online marketing, many companies are looking around to realize that their traditional methods of marketing are less and less effective – and they are losing leads and revenue by not evolving online.

Even with a minimal budget, there are still ways to compete in the new marketing environment. The key to getting back on track is to just get started. Find a partner you trust, and set aside a few hours every month dedicated to building out a few key elements to your marketing backbone one at a time.

Begin by asking yourself the following questions:

• Do you have a plan? The first thing your marketing firm strategy needs is a goal to achieve. Come up with a 3 – 6 month Marketing Action Plan that starts with your business goals and builds out what tactics, such as email marketing, in person events or improving your website or SEO, which you will select to accomplish these goals. Make sure to include timelines to keep your team honest and on track.
• Do you know who you are? We almost always start by looking at a company’s messaging, which we use to build out the rest of your marketing materials. A Messaging Document should be a one to three page “mission statement” to clearly explain your business’ value proposition and key competitive advantage. Use this document for everything from key talking points for sales presentations to writing copy on your website.
• How is your website? With 50% of marketing budgets dedicated to websites, conducting a thorough website audit is usually a fast way to improve your overall marketing ROI.  A good optimization partner should be able to quickly look at your site, and recommend quick fixes and long term improvements to help you achieve your business goals.